


Something More Than Dreaming

by ChiwiTheKiwi



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternative title: That Awkward Moment When Target Gives You a Dad, But guess what? They get one! from each other, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Rated teen for swearing, Robbery, They both want the other to be happy and safe, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 18:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22122202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiwiTheKiwi/pseuds/ChiwiTheKiwi
Summary: When Tony had told him they'd stop at Target just off of Queens Boulevard on the way to Stark Tower at ten o'clock at night, the mental image of the man stepping inside a retail store felt surreal. However, his evening surpassed all expectations and decided to get even weirder."The place is being robbed."
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 141





	Something More Than Dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks Half Alive for telling me to shut up while I was saying dumb potential titles to this one-shot out loud and dumping some perfect song lyrics in my lap. Anyway, [aawake at night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGy9wdgCWEk) is a Tony song for me now 
> 
> I wrote this and then did the equivalent of skim reading editing-wise, so there's bound to be stuff I've missed. Nevertheless, I hope some of you enjoy the good Irondad vibes anyway
> 
> I hope all of you enjoyed your respective holiday celebrations. I know the world isn't a great place right now, but I just want all of you to know that there is still hope for a better future. 
> 
> For now, love each other and take care of yourselves. You all make my day a little brighter with every time the hit count rises on one of my works

When Tony had told him they'd stop at Target just off of Queens Boulevard on the way to Stark Tower at ten o'clock at night, the mental image of the man stepping inside a retail store felt surreal. However, his evening surpassed all expectations and decided to get even weirder.

"The place is being robbed," he points out as he and the billionaire watch from their ducked position within the appliance section. Peter clenches his jaw as he both sees and hears another unsuspecting customer being dragged to the back of the store. The person holding the struggling hostage holds a gun to their side as they move out of sight of their aisle.

He had known something was wrong just before it all happened, but he hadn't had the time to even think beyond getting the two of the away from other people before the shouting began. 

He hears his mentor growl lowly from behind him. "The one fucking time I don't have my suit."

Waves of guilt and frustration practically radiates from him, and Peter doesn't even need to look back to see the man's expression of loathing. He knows that beneath it all, he's panicking, if he's interpreting the way Tony's heart rate has risen ever since the realisation hit. 

It's then that the lights above them abruptly shut off, and it finally spurs Peter's mind into action.

"Back exits," he whispers over his shoulder before he stands and begins to make his way to the end of the aisle on silent feet. He hears Tony harshly whisper something to him that he doesn't process before the man is following behind him. As they near where the aisle splits, the teen is sure to keep his hearing alert to his surroundings, tracking the locations of several of the assumed robbers to ensure they aren't caught. He crouches back down when they make it to the end, where he slowly peeks his head around the steel shelving. Peter takes in as much information as possible before a warning from his spider sense has him ducking out of view.

One of the robbers — who he will give the appropriate name of Undercut — is in the process of locking the fire exit on the eastern side of the building. If he's to hazard a guess, then he would assume they would soon be doing the same to the rest of the doors, if they haven't done so already that is. He listens carefully before inferring Undercut's travel path through the store, turning to Tony and shaking his head before mouthing a quick  _ "Go" _ . The man seems to understand and doesn't question him, quickly moving to the rack of appliance boxes. He pushes some aside as quietly as possible before slipping inside as Peter follows suit. He continues to keep an ear out, even as the robber passes the aisle and keeps going without falter.

In the small space they've made amid the boxes and shadows, it's impossible not to hear Tony speak hushedly beside him.

"Did you bring your phone?"

"No, I left it in your car," he admits,. 

" _ Shit _ . I don't even have FRIDAY with me. Sorry, kid. We're alone on this one."

_ Well, this went to shit fast, _ he thinks glumly. To be entirely honest, Peter is less worried about the fact that they're mice surrounded by cats, and is more frustrated that this will once again increase his mentor's paranoia. 

The man had finally been opening up and trusting those around him a bit more ever since he returned from his chase after Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Peter doesn't know what happened to him — he doesn't think he's told anyone about it, really — but he knows that it left a mark on him that took him quite some time to notice. It was only after he'd come to understand the billionaire's mannerisms and been shown some vulnerability that he finally saw the reluctance to be isolated and forced smiles that more resembled grimaces. The fact that he didn't have the tech infused glasses with him today, especially while out in public, is proof enough of his progress. He just hopes there's a chance this won't lend into his mentor's habits.

"Well, we're locked in," Peter starts absently, focusing his attention on his senses. "We have two choices. We either swipe the keys and get out so we can get to our phones or someone on the street, or we try to get the hostages out first."

He tries not to acknowledge the way Tony's heart rate picks up again at the latter option.

"I say we get the keys. I could call in Rhodey and that way he could bring me my suit so we can deal with this without so much risk."

Peter looks down to his concealed wrists for a moment before bringing his gaze to meet his mentor’s.

“There doesn’t have to be a risk. I have my web shooters.” When Tony goes to reject the idea, he continues to speak confidently. “I can take out these guys without a problem before they have a chance to potentially hurt any of the hostages or find us out. Someone is bound to notice something is wrong outside eventually, but I can have these guys wrapped up before the police get here. I don’t want to risk what might happen if they feel pressured and act out by hurting someone.” 

“ _ Peter _ . There is no way I am letting you fight these guys alone right now.”

“Mr. Stark, I know what I’m doing. It’s going to be okay. I can get you and everyone else out of here within the minute.”

The words come out through gritted teeth as something that could barely even be classified as a whisper. "Peter, don't treat me like I'm just another scared, defenseless hostage. I'm Tony fucking Stark!"

He's left reeling for a moment, blinking at the man as tries to mentally regain his footing. He swallows as he speaks his next words, knowing he is on the precipice of overstepping his boundaries.

"But… you are. I can tell. You  _ are _ scared."

Tony recoils for a moment, visibly conflicted before it melts into something entirely genuine. Desperation and panic come forth where frustration had previously been and it catches Peter wholly off guard.. "I— I'm not scared about these armed punks or being caught, and I'm most certainly not worried for  _ myself _ . Peter, I'm— God damnit, I'm scared for  _ you!  _ I'm worried about  _ your  _ safety! You could get hurt here and there's nothing I can do about it." He breathes in shakily and deeply, straining his voice to its lowest volume. "I don't know what I would do with myself if you got hurt."

_ … Huh. _

Peter stares back in the darkness, making out the conglomeration of emotion that seeps into the man's expression. The unexpected admittance has stolen all his plans of action and promptly dumped them on the floor at his feet, and now he’s scrambling to pick up the pieces. 

He’d always vaguely known Tony cared about him. He had made it more than obvious in their day to day lives in the specific way that Tony moves and speaks; how he initiates contact so openly between them whereas he avoids doing the same with most others. It had become so normal, to see him sometimes break out into spontaneous bouts of vulnerability — in far contrast to the formal, higher-than-thou front he would slip into in front of the general public. The latter was the appearance he’d come to originally acknowledge the hero by, but as they grew closer, he had barely even noticed that that association had entirely dissipated.

The man in front of him right now, it seems, is neither the mentor nor the billionaire he’s come to know. Rather, he has fallen into a position Peter doesn’t quite know how to name, unfamiliar in a way he knows should be apparent.

Tony is just about to start speaking again, likely to continue to drag him away from the idea of stepping out and facing the criminals, when Peter lunges forward. 

His arms encircle the man’s torso firmly, his face pressed into his shoulder, as the other freezes in spot before hesitating. Within the next few seconds, the vice is being returned, and Tony’s feels more like it’s holding him in place, unwilling to let go lest he disappear.

“I know you don’t like it,” Peter starts, words muffled by the other man’s jacket. He brings his head up so that he can speak into the dusty, silent air around them. “But I’m strong, and these guys? They’re nothing. They don’t compare to some of the big dogs we’ve both seen.” He feels the man’s grip tighten slightly, as though he could physically restrain the enhanced kid in his arms. “I swear, I won’t get hurt. No one has to get hurt here, and I sure as hell am not about to let it be you either.”

Tony has to stifle a snort, but they still stay that way. Peter would be kidding himself if he said he didn’t feel safe in the man’s arms, taking in the smell of cologne and the faintest smell of oil that hasn’t quite been washed from his clothes and skin. 

“I hate that you’re so self sacrificial.”

  
“Good, I guess that just makes two of us then.”

He doesn’t need to pull away from the man to see that he’s currently on the receiving end of what would be a scathing glare. “At least I usually do it in a metal suit. All you have right now is your shooters; you don’t even have the entire suit. Besides, what exactly are you planning on doing out there? Are you going to puppy dog eyes them to death?”

Peter knows what he is doing — prolonging this moment as much as he can before he knows he won’t be able to stop him from taking action. He takes the bait anyway.

“Mr. Stark, you know I don’t actually kill people.” It comes out insulted, though his expression shows only humor as he finally allows himself to peel away from the man’s embrace.

“Yeah.” Tony says, though it wouldn’t be audible if not for Peter’s enhanced hearing. “I know, kid.” The way it’s spoken is fond, gentle. It alights a fire in the teen, determination fueled as he adds another goal to his list of objectives. 

_ Get back to Tony safe. _

“Now get out there and kick some ass, yeah? And don’t get shot in the process.” 

Peter smiles shakily, knowing the man can’t actually see it in the darkness. He notices his mentor’s pulse heighten again for a split second as he tells him this, but the fact that the older man doesn’t act on the idea to try and stop him again brings forth a swelling of contentment within him. 

As he slips from the boxes and into the aisle, leaving the man to hide and wait, Peter is just glad to know that above all, he will have Tony’s trust guiding him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


By the time the two of them leave the front doors of the store together, an arm draped over Peter’s shoulders while police escort the unconscious and bruised robbers from the premises, the teen is struggling to shove down a smile. He knows if he were to let it slip onto his face, it would only be seen as a cause for concern. It would also undoubtedly be far too unsettling. 

“Remind me to never spar with you.”

Peter snorts. “You already made the mistake of asking to once before. I thought you came to the same conclusion then?”   
  
Tony looks down at him, an eyebrow raised with a subtle half-smile. “I was always planning to cheat on the next round, but I don’t think even that would save me, to be frank.”

A blush rises to his cheeks and he has to force his eyes away, the thinly-veiled praise striking something within his chest, warm and uplifting as it is. He can identify with ease that it’s the very same fluttery feeling that shrouds his lungs whenever the man passively commends him on a job well done on patrol or in the lab. There have been times where Peter would resolve a problem the genius had been stuck on, in which he would receive an encouraging smile with a firm hand on his shoulder.

_ “I’ve had my eyes set on that equation for  _ weeks  _ trying to rework it! Sometimes I forget you’re probably just as much of a genius as I am, Pete.” _

When the two of them finally make their way over to the billionaire’s car, Peter feels the exhaustion begin to weigh on him. 

By now it must be stretching close to midnight. After they’d finally gotten all the hostages out, they’d been questioned on the whereabouts of Spider-Man, acknowledging the signature web-like threads that were restraining the dozen thugs within the building. The surveillance system was seen to be obscured by some sort of spray the group of criminals had used to cover the camera lenses, and thus the police didn’t know where the vigilante had run off to. Meanwhile, Peter found it particularly amusing when Tony waved them off, saying he’d spoken briefly with the hero before he’d watched him dash through an exit in all of his “blue and red spandexed glory”.

Peter had used one of the store-bought hero masks to cover his face (Thor, obviously), and thus wasn’t worried about any of the criminals awaking and revealing his identity. Even still, he’d only taken each of the robbers out stealthily, and so the chances of him being linked back to his superhero persona were slim to none. 

He slips into the passenger seat in tandem with Tony and closes the door behind him before he’s already sliding down slightly in the chair. Without consent, his eyelids slowly fall closed, and before he knows it his head is leaning against the car window as they drive back onto Queens Boulevard in the direction of the Tower.

The teen isn’t awake to notice how the music from the radio is respectfully turned down for his enhanced ears. He doesn’t notice when the man driving beside him slips off his warm winter jacket and carefully lays it across his curled up body. He most definitely doesn’t see the proud, gentle smile that’s thrown his way at a stoplight before it faces the road ahead again.

He doesn’t need to know any of this happens, though. Despite it, Peter still knows that he is loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Someone stop me, my hands want to keep writing for these two idiots
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr! I love hearing from you guys: [chiwithekiwi](https://chiwithekiwi.tumblr.com/)


End file.
